Previous and modified proposals for 339 West 29th Street. Image credit: LPC

Despite reductions in addition’s scale and visibility, and promises to install a diorama commemorating escape of abolitionists from Draft Riots mob, Commissioners determined that any rooftop interventions were inappropriate. At its meeting on May 23, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission disposed of an application for facade alterations and rear and roof additions to 339 West 29th Street in the Lamartine Place Historic District. In the 19th century, the building was home to prominent abolitionists Abigail and James Sloan Gibbons, and is the only documented stop on the Underground Railroad in New York City. During the Draft Riots that engulfed the City in 1863, a mob attacked and set fire to the building, and the occupants escaped via rooftops to a nearby relative’s home. (read more…)

339 West 29th Street. Image Credit: NY Public Library

With previous development plan stopped mid-operation by DOB permit revocation and landmark designation, applicant sought approval for the creation of a rear addition, a two-story roof addition, and a new brick-faced facade. On September 20, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on a proposal for alterations and additions to 339 West 29th Street, in the Lamartine Place Historic District. The building was constructed in 1847, and underwent alterations in the 20th century. The LLC that owns the property is reported to be controlled by Tony Manoumas. (read more…)

11 Jane Street Rendering. Image Credit: David Chipperfield Architects.

Proposal met with strong opposition from community members, elected officials and preservationist organizations. On June 21, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and heard testimony on an application to replace a 1921 garage building with a new residential structure at 11-19 Jane Street. The site lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The garage at the site is two stories tall, and it once replaced two townhouses. (read more…)

Board granted a use variance to expand and convert three-story building for residential use, but did not address existing cellar and ground floor uses. On September 16, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals partially approved a use variance for Susan Golick, the owner of a commercial building at 220 Lafayette Street in Manhattan. The variance permits Ms. Golick to convert the building’s second and third floor to residential use and to build an additional fourth and partial fifth floor. (read more…)